Runaway truck lands in Southborough pool

No injuries reported in Ashley Road incident

Published 2:05 PM EST Feb 07, 2013

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. -

A rogue truck rolled down a steep driveway, crossed a street, crashed into a stone wall and narrowly missed a house Wednesday night before coming to rest in an unlikely place, the MetroWest Daily News reported.

“My husband calls me. He goes, ‘Why is there a truck in our pool?’” Elizabeth Dill of 6 Ashley Road said Thursday.

Dill said she immediately came home to find a black truck with its rear end on top of her pool cover, its front end resting on the lip of the pool’s edge.

Her husband Eric Enge had, in the meantime, called the police, and was understandably impressed when officers were able to guess the make of the truck -- a Toyota Tacoma -- before they even came to investigate.

That’s because about 40 minutes before Enge’s 6:28 p.m. phone call to police, a man who had parked across the street at 3 Ashley Road had reported his Toyota Tacoma stolen.

Dill said the man worked for her neighbor, and looked around the street for the truck before assuming someone had swiped it.

What actually happened, Lt. Sean James said, is that the truck slipped out of gear and rolled quickly down the driveway.

Picking up speed, it crossed the street and went into the yard of Dill’s neighbor, which is also on a hill.

From the damage in the neighbor’s yard Thursday morning -- including pieces of the vehicle -- it appears the truck hit a small tree and small stone wall.

Hitting the wall likely prevented the truck from hitting the house, as it struck bushes literally just a few inches away from the corner of the home before swerving to the left and heading into Dill’s yard.

The truck then traveled a considerable distance in Dill’s backyard before smashing through an aluminum fence around her pool and coming to a rest on top of the pool cover.

Though the pool cover did partially tear, Dill was impressed that it was able to keep the back end of the truck from falling all the way into the pool.

“They always claim it holds an elephant,” she laughed.

Dill said neighbors and friends of her three teenage children came from all over town to scope out the scene as Ted’s Towing spent several hours winching the truck from the pool.

Dill thanked Ted’s for getting the truck out without hurting the pool or her nearby septic system. She said she’s also thankful that the truck didn’t take a different path that could have led to more disastrous results.

“I’m just glad everyone’s safe,” she said.

James said the owner of the truck has not been cited.

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